Businessman Alex Robertson says the closure of the Royal Bank of Scotland branch in Burnside will have a massive impact on the community

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Only two complaints were made about the closure of the Burnside branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

The figure is contained in the branch closure fact sheet, which has been published this month by RBS ahead of the closure on October 12.

Of 152 pieces of feedback, just two objected to the plan, with the rest being classified as “enquiries”,suggesting many locals were resigned to losing the branch.

RBS continued to come under fire from customers and local councillors this week as further details of the closure became clear.

In the document, customers are encouraged to use the Rutherglen branch, which is 1.1 miles from Burnside.

Other branches listed include Parkhead, 3.3 miles away, and Shawlands which is nearly four miles away.

They also say some transactions can be made at Burnside Post Office, although concerns have been raised elsewhere about privacy in post offices for large transactions.

Community bankers will continue to operate in the area while technical experts, knows as TechXperts, are available to help with digital banking.

Concerns continue to be raised about the impact of the closure, especially among older members of the community.

Businessman Alex Robertson, 83, is a regular user of the bank.

He said the Rutherglen branch is too far away and questioned the consultation process.

He accused RBS of breaking the industry protocol, adding: “A lot of elderly people, including myself, believe that a truthful, internal analysis of the local people’s needs was definitely not taken into consideration.

“Shareholders and taxpayers were never consulted on this closure. The impact on the community is devastating, as a lot of the elderly, rightly or wrongly, are old school who believe that RBS means local communities come first.”

Rutherglen South councillor, Robert Brown, said the consultation that followed the announcement of the closure earlier this year was “never intended as anything other than a box ticking exercise.”

He said the bank should have considered sharing a facility with other banks, adding: “RBS seem to have forgotten that personal customers, local businesses and local voluntary sector groups are their base, as they have been for several hundred years.” RBS say that they have experienced a 36 per cent drop in branch transactions since 2010 with online and mobile banking increasing by 400 per cent.

A spokesman for RBS told the Reformer they had actually “gone beyond” the banking protocol.

He added that they had extended the time between the announcement and closure to six months and insisted other ways to bank were available.

He added: “We interact with our customers over 20 times more through digital channels than physical ones.

“As customers change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them. The role of the branch is fast moving to a centre for advice, away from basic transactions.

“While the branch will still be a core part of our offering to customers, inevitably some branches will have to close.”